Tennis-court marker.



H. C. TURNER L W. A. TUFTS. TENNIS COURT MARKER.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. i. |915.

v Patented Feb. 26, 1918.

QM/ 9mm wenn c. munNnn AND WILLIAMA. T'Ur'rs, or' Los ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

innate.-

Specication of Letters Patent. Pmbntgnedl llFb, 26, 11911 Application led December J., 1915. Y Serial No. 64,393.

To all whom l'may concern.'

Be it `known that we, HARRY C. TURNER and WILLIAM A. TUius, citizens. of the United States, residing at Los' Angeles, in the countybf Los Angeles and State of California, have inventedcertain new and useful' Improvements .in Tennis-Court Markers, of which the following is a specification. l

This invention relates to improvements in marking device's, and particularly boundaryf or line marking means, such for instance'- as 4 'may be employed in marking the lines 'of readily displaced".

tennis or other game courts or boundaries of any kind.

It is an object of the invention to provideV a metallic line orl boundary mark4 adapted to be placed upon the surface of the earth, pavement or other surfaces andto beanchoredthereto in such a way as to not be It isa further object ofthe invention to provide a boundary or line 4marking' device made up of flanged or channel metal'setI so that the flanges thereof will be embedded in the. earth, concrete or other surfacel upon which the boundary lines are to'be marked,

means being provided for preventing longi' tudinal'or lateral shiftin' movement of th metallic/pieces forming yt e device. It is a still-.further object of the invention to provide a line or boundary marking structure for tennis or other courtsor other areas to-bze bounded, made up of a'series of metallic sections adapted to rbe laid uponl the ground and having interlocking connecting portions for firmly holding` the said sections together. ,t

. W'th these and otherobjects in view the invention comprises certain novel constructions, combinatlons and arrangements of parts as will be hereinafter more fullyv del scribed and claimed; 1

' ln the accompanying drawing: 4

Figure 1 isa top plan `view of a portion (of a tennis court marker or boundaryindieating device, a portion of one of the side lines, one ofthe alley lines and one of the end lines of the court being illustrated and with parts thereof -broken away.

Fig. '2 is a transverse sectional view upon an enlarged scale taken upon the line 2--2 lof lFig. 1.. `l4`ig. 3 is a detail sectional view upon an plarged scale taken upon the luie 3-3 of ig. 1.2,. Y n

renewed during game time.

,line indicators made of ribbon or fabric l and have to be-repeatedly renewed, espe.-

cially in tennis courts where the lines are stepped upon frequently. v'The common expedient of using lines made by dusting lime upon the court surface has proven very ine'ective', the lines sometimes having to be Markers or such as canvas or the like while Vmore dur.- able wear out in a short time and frequently become vrolled so as to readily catch upon the feet of the players and cause considerable' difficulty. With the device of thpresent invention a very permanent line or marker is produced and one which is readily put in place and can be positively held against dis placement without'diiliculty. An approved form of the device has been illustrated in y Fig. 4 is' a' detail sectional view taken the accompanying drawing in which 5 indicates a section of the marking device, the` said device being usually made of a series of sections like the same or similar thereto.'

Each of said sections is preferably made of a metallic-strip usually bent, rolled or otherwise' shaped to forma channel bar having depending sidejedge flanges 6 adapted to be embedded -in the earth, concrete, asphalt or other material of which the court or surface 'to be marked may be formed. The f'channel shape of the strips give them great longitudinal stiffness andabsolute straight ness even though they are made of comparatively thin material such as galvanized iron or thel like.y The sections commonly employed are usually made with an elongated tongue 7 at one end thereof, having tapering side edges 8 and having the Hanges 6` cut back forA the length rof the said tongue. The other vend of each section is provided with a slot 9 adapted to receive the tongue 7 of an adjacent section. The flanges 6 of this end of the section are allowed to prolll@ ]ect at 10, a shortdistance beyond 'the body portion of the section. yThe projectlons being bent lin slightlylwill pass beneath the body. portion vof Vthe section' next ad]acent thereto and within the ends of the anges 6 thereof as clearly shown in Figs 1 and 6 of the drawing.A The tongue I is then usually bentbackwardly beneath the body por- `tion ofthe adjacent -section as shown in said Fig.' 6 to -form a positive lock between the two sections. The two sections are thus pos- I itively heldfwith respect to each other, the

bent tongue preventing movement in one direction while the shoulders ofthe sections engaging. each other at the proJections 10 prevent movement 'in the other direction.

The lbent 'portion of the tongue within the I js/lot 9 alsopositively holds the section 'Y against movementin either direction.- The v o .l

vone section while the'v projections 10 `slip tongue passes 'above the body portion .of

beneath Vthe bodyr portion of the other sec` 'tion, thus making a verystitll and strong joint between the parts. l V In marking a tennis court a single piece of marking material might 'of course be made to reach entirely -across the court or longitudinallythereof Aif preferred. This' is 'net generally `the case however .as it'is far preferable to form the marking device ofthe short sections applied end to end for making up the desired length of the longitudinaland transverse lines'of the court. 'Ati-intermediate points along each section,v

the metal is preferably perforated as at 11 so that wire or other nails'or pins 12 may be driven through the -perforations and -into v--the 'ground orother surfaces upon which the marker is to be laid, for firmly holding the same' in place and against any longitudinal or vertical displacement. The metal of the marker sections is preferably depressed [around said apertures 11to form counter'- 'sunk' recesses 13 to accommo'datepthe heads 45- of the nails 12 so that they'will not projects,

."abovethe upper surfaces of the sections and form obstructions upon the device. Where the joints inthe device are-inter y mediate .the llength of the lines of the court,

`4they .aremade as above described. l WhereV .lines come together atan angle, as for instance where .the transverse linesmeet the longitudinal lines a similar joint is formed,

` y' the-tongue upon the endslof one section beg ing used as-before but being slipped int ,slots 14.-'made longitudinally of the sections" .instead'of transversely thereof. In this case -theendS..-of the flanges'6 abut against `the sides of the flanges on-the member 'which extends across the end -of the section carrying the tongue, as will be clearly understood byreference to Fig..1 of the drawing; The

-tongues Yare bent backwardly beneath lthe body' portion of the'- transverse marking piece as clearly shown n Fig. 3 of the draw- 'of theparts andthe ing -y lpieces having ing. It will be evident that thel sections upon either side of the court which abut against other sections extending at an angle thereto should be made with a tongue adapted to slip into a slot as-just described with respect to the joints 'shown in'Fig. -3 of the drawing. In corner sections as for instance the sections brought together at the corner shown in Fig.` 1, the `end o'f one of the sections, as forl instance 15 is also provided with a ange portion 16 turned down at the end of the section transversely thereof.

When using the device for a tennis court marker, it will be evident that a substantial metallic frame of rectangular form 'wlth suitable cross and intermediate' lines is formed, the frame being very thoroughly braced in all its. parts', and materially stiliened at its connecting portions to forma permanent and vstrong structure. In put- -ting such frame in p lace, its component Any desired number of nails or pins 12 may `thenbe driven through the apertures 11 for further and more effectively anchoring the marking structurev in position. A Vmetallic -ping and holding 4the ,frame in position.

marker of this kind possesses many advani tages in additionto its durability. In the first place it may be painted white `or some other Vcolor which will stand out plainly,

-the metal affording an excellent' surface for 'holding the paint. The lines formed by the Amarker sections also have their edges slightly rounded by the turning down of the flanges 6 and offer no chance-for the catching of the in addition to assisting in holding the sections'from any lateral movement, render the' sections stiff .and not 'likely to become bent.

'It willbe 'evident that other shapes of metallic strips may be employed within the spirit of this invention and that the structure'of thejointsv between the sections thereof may be considerably., varied within the scope of the ysaid invention. In marking of boun'daries of any kind where the parts are toI beset in an ular refoot upon the `said sections and the ianges lation to each other', the holding s ots 9 orv 14 may be set toaccommodate the position direction of lines.

What is claimed is 1. A metallic boundary marker comprisp securing edge anges thereon adaptedto be embedded 1n the m9- mame@ terial to be marked,v and connecting means joining said pieces whereby substantially continuous boundary lines may be marked.

2. A line marker comprising metallic channel pieces and means for-connecting the same to afford a substantially vcontinuous line marking means.

3. A. line marker comprising sheetmetal pieces having ground penetrating edge'portions and connecting means for holding said pieces against relative movement in any d-irection with respect to each-other.

4. A tennis courtmarker made' up .of a series of channel bar sections having tongue and slot connections at their ends. v l

5. A tennis court marker made up of a series ofl channel bar sections having their edge flanges turned downwardly andv embedded in the surface to be marked, interlocking means between the sections preventing a relative movement between the parts in any way, and intermediate anchoring'means also adapted to be embedded in the material of such surface.

6. A tennis court marker comprising a series of-sections having a channel shape in cross section, one end of each section having a tongue while the other end thereofgis provided with a tongue receiving slot and projections adapted to bear upon the end surfaces of adjacent sections whereby Aa stiff joint is formed between the parts, the

vchannel bars their upper surfaces being flush with the ground and having perforations in their body portions, anchoring nails driven throughsaid apertures, thel said apertures being countersunk around the said nails for accommodating the heads thereof, and interllocking 'means forming substantially continuous channel bars.

8., A boundary marking structure comprising metallic pieces adapted to be set at angles to each other, one member having a locking tongue and the other being provided with slots extending approximately longitudinally thereof for receiving said locking tongues and-abutment members for holding the parts in proper relation to each other.

9. A line'marker comprisingv a series of sheet metal pieces having ground engaging edge portions and separable hooking portions connecting the adjacent ends of said pieces.

10. A line marker comprising a series of sheet metal pieces and havmg ground penetrating edge portions for holding the pieces against lateral and longitudinal movement and having bent down end portions for holding the said pieces against movement with respect to each other. 11. A line marker comprising sheet metal pieces having vseparable connecting means adapted to prevent adjacent ends of the pieces from being elevated or depressed with respect to each other. y

In testimony whereof, we have hereunto set our hands in presence of two Witnesses.

Witnesses:

CAssnLL SEvERANoE, EARLE R. POLLABD. 

